The current library exhibition brings attention to authors and texts in Georgia O'Keeffe's personal collection that advanced the cause for women's rights, expanded upon or focused on a changing woman’s role. Included are twenty-two publications authored by seventeen writers, not all women and not all labeling themselves as feminists, that were collected over time by O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz.
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Feminisms are a broad collection of theories, movements, and moral philosophies that aim for the social, economic, political, and intellectual equality of men and women. Feminist movements have changed over time and are often explained in four “waves” as a means to differentiate between the various movements and periods of time. The majority of the books in the exhibition were published during or after first wave feminism and before second wave feminism. In the United States, first wave feminism was centered around an organized movement for equality with men and gaining rights for women, including the right to vote. The passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 granted voting rights to white women and largely fulfilled the primary efforts of feminism’s first wave. While white women advanced equality relative to white men, equality of other issues, notably race, were not improved and led to women of color being marginalized and blocked from voting until the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965.
While “feminist literature” is often tied to activism, it more broadly supports the goals of feminisms to examine, question, and change antiquated gender roles and inequalities through writing. Feminist literature also advocates for women writers being accepted as authors and respected creatives, especially before the 20th century when authorship was often considered an activity unsuitable for women and it was not uncommon for women to publish under male pseudonyms. Various genres are covered in the exhibition including fiction, non-fiction, and short stories. Examples include Anaïs Nin's hand printed novelette Winter of Artifice, Djuna Barnes's masterpiece of "lesbian fiction" Nightwood, Kay Boyle's highly-acclaimed short stories, several of Gertrude Stein's literary experiments, and Ashley Montagu's pioneering second wave feminism publication The Natural Superiority of Women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s controversial magazine, The Forerunner, is displayed open to “The Dress of Women”, a serialized essay that O’Keeffe marked and commented on.
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Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this exhibition was initially planned for spring 2020 as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote.
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Feminist Writings from Georgia O'Keeffe's Personal Libraries will be on display in the Museum's Engl library and archive from May 16, 2022 to March 10, 2023.
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